The present invention relates to building blocks and in particular to toy building blocks for construction sets.
In European patent publication No. 0,116,519 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,393 toy building blocks for construction sets are disclosed. Such building blocks have side walls and a wall extending perpendicular thereto which is provided on one side with two rows of coupling pins and on the other side with counter coupling sockets which cooperate with the coupling pins to provide a mechanical coupling or clamping effect between two such blocks. Every other coupling pin of each row is provided with a conductive surface and the alternate pins are electrically insulated. One row of pins is offset with respect to the other row by one coupling pin in the direction of the rows. A contact bar is mounted on the other side of the wall along each longitudinal sidewall and is in electrical contact with the conductive coupling pins of the corresponding row and has a contact face for making electrical contact with a row of conductive coupling pins of an adjacent coupled block. During coupling of two such blocks in the longitudinal direction or vertical thereto, it is possible to obtain a short circuit-proof coupling of two separate electrical circuits. However, if a model is built by electrically coupling such prior art building blocks in more than two planes a problem arises in that the electrical circuits may be shortened. This is particularly so when an electrical loop is formed during the construction of the model.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a building block of the aforementioned type with which an absolute short circuit-proof coupling of two electrically separated conductors may be attained even if a large number of such blocks are coupled to each other and even if electrical loops are formed.
Surprisingly, with the building blocks of the present invention short circuits cannot be caused between the two electrical conductors due to the zig-zag arrangement of the connection between respective conducting coupling pins even if a large number of such blocks are coupled mechanically and electrically in any structure and orientation. As a result, the present building blocks permit even an inexperienced user or a child to form electrical circuits without problem.
An exemplified embodiment of the building blocks of the present invention along with a method of making the same is explained in more detail forthwith in conjunction with the drawings which illustrate the following: